Keep your base IEM mix: note only the song-specific changes

A short IEM exceptions list keeps your working mix intact while making song-specific changes clear, targeted, and easy to reverse.

“More lead vocal” sounds like a straightforward request. Across a full set, it becomes less useful. Which singer? In whose ears? For the whole song, or just the quiet bridge?

When those details stay unwritten, the monitor operator has to remember the arrangement and interpret requests at the same time. Musicians may also carry a change into the next song, even though the reason for it has disappeared.

The answer is not a separate monitor-mix plan for every song. Keep the rehearsal mix that already works, then write down only the exceptions that help someone follow a particular arrangement.

1. Decide what qualifies as an exception

Your base mix is the balance each player can normally perform with: their own instrument or voice, the rhythmic information they need, and the other parts that help them navigate the music.

Establish that first. If you still need a process for reaching a workable balance, use this guide to line check and soundcheck. The exceptions list starts after that work, not instead of it.

A useful exception has a musical reason and a defined window. A different singer takes the lead. A keyboard phrase becomes the only cue for an exposed entrance. A guitarist swaps to an instrument that the bassist needs to follow.

Ask one question: What changes in this arrangement that makes the base mix insufficient for a particular player? If nobody can identify that moment, test the base mix before adding an instruction.

• Include arrangement-dependent needs. Note a source that must become easier to follow for a specific song or section.
• Fix persistent balance problems separately. If a singer needs more of their own voice throughout the set, revisit their base mix rather than repeating the request under every song.
• Keep faults off this list. Crackling cables, intermittent channels, and missing signals need troubleshooting, not a scheduled mix adjustment.

Be precise about what changes. Raising a vocal source in the drummer's monitor mix is not the same as changing that microphone's input gain. Input gain can affect multiple destinations, depending on the system. A song-specific request should identify the source level within the named monitor mix, leaving other mixes and the front-of-house balance alone.

There is no universal amount to add. Agree on the smallest useful adjustment while playing the relevant passage. If reducing a competing source works better than raising the cue, document that instead.

2. Write a compact exceptions list

Keep one shared list in set order, with one entry per change window. Use names and source labels that match what the operator sees. “Sam vocal” is clearer than “lead” when the lead role moves between singers.

Give every entry an owner. That might be the monitor operator or a musician using a personal mixer. If several musicians control their own mixes, write separate entries when their actions differ.

Copyable entry format

Use cues the responsible person can actually follow. “Before I need it” is not actionable. “During the count-in” or “after the final chorus cutoff” gives them something recognizable. If the arrangement allows repeats, specify whether the cue follows a musical event or a fixed bar number.

Agree on the unavailable response with the affected player before the set. Do not assume the unchanged base mix will be sufficient. An assigned owner is not confirmation: leave the entry pending until that person has accepted it and rehearsed the change and return.

Example: a different lead singer

In this hypothetical entry, only Jo needs an adjustment:

Song and section: “Open Road,” whole song.
Affected player's mix: Jo, drums.
Source and agreed adjustment: Raise Sam vocal to the rehearsed alternate-lead setting in Jo's mix only.
Action cue: After the previous song's final cutoff, before the count-in.
Responsible person: Alex, monitor operator.
Return cue: After “Open Road” ends, restore Sam vocal to Jo's base setting.
If unavailable: Alex signals Jo before the count-in; the bandleader then gives Jo the agreed visual cues for section changes. Rehearse this alternative too.
Operator confirmation: Alex has acknowledged the request and rehearsed both the change and return.

Sam's own mix and the other musicians' mixes stay unchanged. The entry solves Jo's need to follow the new lead, rather than assuming everyone needs the same adjustment.

Other requests to test

An exposed entrance: Maya needs the keyboard pickup before the final chorus of “Still Water.” Test a keys adjustment in Maya's mix only, starting at the bridge and returning at the first full-band downbeat. Alex owns the move. Before accepting the entry, agree on an alternative entrance cue and record Alex's confirmation.

An instrument swap: Lee needs acoustic guitar for the introduction to “Home Again.” Lee makes the agreed adjustment on their personal mixer after the guitarist's swap, before the count-in, and returns at the full-band entrance. This assumes both instruments already have working signal paths. Record Lee's confirmation and an agreed alternative cue, not equipment setup instructions.

3. Rehearse the change and the return

An exception is ready only when the player can use it and the responsible person can execute it. Reading the list together is helpful, but playing through the cue reveals whether it arrives early enough.

A short cue-to-return drill

1. Start from the base mix. Confirm that the affected source is at its normal setting before each attempt.
2. Begin before the action cue. Play enough of the preceding section or song transition for the owner to recognize the moment without a spoken reminder.
3. Make the agreed change. The affected musician plays or sings the passage at performance intensity.
4. Continue through the return. Restore the source at the written return cue and play a little further.
5. Test the alternative. Repeat the passage without the adjustment, using the agreed unavailable response. Revise it if the player still cannot follow.
6. Confirm or delete. Ask whether the change was necessary and the return worked. Delete unnecessary requests. For retained entries, record the owner's acknowledgment and successful rehearsal of the change and return.

If a change requires constant reminders, simplify it. Move the action cue earlier, choose a more recognizable event, or reconsider whether the adjustment is necessary. If a requested move makes the mix uncomfortably loud, stop and rebalance rather than treating louder as the goal.

This list does not require automated scene recalls or rebuilding mixes between songs. Manual moves are enough when the workload is realistic.

Keep one current version with the person coordinating requests. When the arrangement changes, update the affected entry rather than adding another competing instruction.

For your next set, choose the three most important exceptions. Document their cues, owners, alternatives, and returns, then rehearse and confirm each one. Leave the rest of your working mix alone.